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Description
Scope/Content: This is an oral history of Mr. Sang Nguyen, otherwise known as Steven Thanh Nguyen. He was born in Saigon, Vietnam in 1970. After losing contact with his father due to the war, his mother decided to allow him to flee Vietnam with his uncle via boat in 1978. This boat took them and the other passengers to the Philippines, where he lived in a refugee camp for about eight months. Steven was sponsored for adoption in the states and was adopted by a Caucasian family in Nyack, New York. He went to high school at Nyack High School and continued his education at Alfred State College of Technology. After receiving his degree, he relocated to Orange County, California with some family members. Today, Steven is an electrical technician and a business owner. He is a husband and father of two sons. His family currently resides in Santa Ana, California. He enjoys playing soccer with his friends in his free time or spending time with his sons. Steven does not necessarily identify with a specific religion but supports and respects his wife’s Buddhist beliefs. Scope/Content: At what point in time can one pinpoint the beginning of Vietnamese America? Does it begin with the Fall of Saigon? Does it begin with the creation of Little Saigons throughout America? In looking to define Vietnamese American experiences, do we limit what it has been and what it could be? Whatever the entry point, experiences of Vietnamese Americans are inextricably tangled with the political, economic, and social structures of racial, class, and gender hierarchy in the United States and notions of authenticity and nationalism. Thus, to begin learning what the Vietnamese American experience entails, is to also begin unlearning. This course seeks to understand, unravel and complicate what Vietnamese America is through a critical refugee and critical race lens. By analyzing various issues, we are able to see how Vietnamese Americans are affected by larger societal forces such as capitalism and imperialism. This course aims to: 1. To introduce the student to the history, culture, and contemporary experiences of Vietnamese Americans, highlighting how power and privilege entangles them all together. 2. Expand current discourse around social issues that affect Vietnamese Americans by using both scientific literature, creative works and scholarly articles. 3. Expose students to the multitude of historical, contemporary and local Vietnamese American narratives, taking advantage of the proximity to one of the largest Little Saigons. Scope/Content: Shermaine and Steven getting to know each other, photographer David Nguyen, 2019.
Type
sound
Format
1 mp3 audio file; 1 pdf transcription English; 1 pdf time log; 1 pdf life map; 6 jpg image files
Adoptee | Adoption | Asian American studies | Assimilation | Boat people | Buddhist | Business owner | Children | Citizenship | College | University | Discrimination | Education | Emigration | Family | Family reunification | High school | Higher education | Homemaker | Immigrant | Integration | Land refugee | Little Saigon (Orange County, California) | Manicurist | Marriage | Nail salon | Racism | Refugee camp | Refugee camp (Philippines) | Resettlement | Saigon (Vietnam) | Santa Ana (California) | Sports | Student | Technician | Tradition | Westminster (California) | Youth
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